Star Trek: Swiftfire 09: Task Force 59
by The Sisko
Summary: The Swiftfire aids a group of Starfleet fighters and is recruited into their task force on a mission to hunt down and destroy a priority Dominion target.  At the same time the Swiftfire gets a visit by a reporter on a PR mission.
1. Prologue

**STAR TREK: SWIFTFIRE**

**_Task Force 59  
><em>**

(Season 1: Episode 9)

* * *

><p>The FNS, Federation News Service, was the premier news provider in the United Federation of Planets. It provided comprehensive coverage of all aspects of life in and outside the Federation. No easy task considering the size of the Federation and known space. But the FNS had over two hundred years of practice.<p>

There were FNS offices all over the Federation but the Headquarters was located in San Francisco, Earth. The grey emblem was proudly displayed on the multistorey high-rise that served as the Headquarters. It was located close to Starfleet Headquarters because of the close ties between the two organisations.

One floor of the building was dedicated to reporting on the various Starfleet fleets. In one of the offices of the floor was the reporter Jasmine Carter. The young human female was responsible for keeping tabs on the Fifth Fleet. The reporter was working at a computer terminal on her latest report on the Fifth Fleet.

There was a beep that indicated an incoming transmission. The reporter quickly responded, it was an audio only communication.

"Jasmine Carter," said the reporter, barely pausing from her writing.

"_Hi, Miss Carter. I've got some info on an assignment you might be interested in,"_ said the caller.

"Really?" Carter didn't sound very interested. As a reporter she was use to people calling with "interesting" information. Some of it was interesting but most were not as important as the caller thought. But she knew the caller always had good information, but of course he could still think it was more interesting then it was really.

The caller didn't seem to notice. _"I heard that Starfleet is doing some PR to repair its image. They are going to allowing us to send reporters to a couple of the ships that have been in the thick of it."_

"Really?" Carter sounded more interested now.

"_I thought you might what to know one of the ship is going to be the_ _USS_ Swiftfire_-A_."

"What?" Carter stopped working and gave the call all her attention. "Are you serious, Jimmy?"

"_Would I call you otherwise? The chief hasn't assigned them yet, so if you're lucky you might convince him to give it to you."_

Carter was already halfway out of her seat. "Thanks Jimmy. I owe you!"

"_I was hoping you would say that,"_ said Jimmy causing the reporter to stop as she waited for the catch. _"If you get this I want to go with you as your holorecorder."_

Carter smiled to herself. "Whatever you want, Jimmy. If I get this assignment I might just marry you!"

But before he could respond Jasmine Carter cut the transmission and bolted out of her office.


	2. Chapter 1

"That's great. Just great," said Captain Jonathan Masters sarcastically.

The image of an older man smiled as he saw Jonathan's reaction. "_You're taking this better then I though. There really is nothing to worry about."_

"I didn't say I was worried, father. I just don't like reporters."

Jonathan's father chuckled. Jonathan gave him a warning glare. Jonathan was still not use to seeing his father out of uniform. Until recently it had been Admiral Dalton Masters, now it was just Dalton Masters. The ex-Admiral had stood down after the Battle of Guyra.

During the battle he had commanded the USS _Ambassador_, a new prototype vessel designed along similar lines to the _Ambassador_ class. The _Ambassador_ was lost during the battle and Dalton was the sole survivor found during a rescue operation following the battle. During the inquiry into the loss Starfleet had not found anything untoward but Dalton still chose to stand down from his post and retire. Jonathan was still getting use to it.

But Dalton still had contacts in high places. So he was quick to pick up on news that would involve the _Swiftfire._

"_It's only for a few days," _continued Dalton.

"A few days! I would prefer a few minutes."

"_Don't worry. Have you heard of Jasmine Carter?" _asked Dalton. Jonathan shook his head._ "She covers the Fifth fleet for the FNS. She seems to have taken a fancy to the _Swiftfire_. So you'll be getting a reporter who is already on your side. She is a lovely lady."_

"You've met her?" asked Jonathan surprised.

"_A few times,"_ offered Dalton.

Jonathan recognised his father's tone, it was the one he used when he knew something but wasn't going to let the exact details out. So Jonathan decided to change topics. "So how goes retirement?"

A grim look came to Dalton's face. _ "It is nearly as bad as a desk job. I have nothing to do but annoy your mother all day."_

Jonathan let out a laugh. He never thought he would see the day that his father would be out of Starfleet. He thought they would have to pry the Starfleet commbadge from his father's cold dead hands before that would happen. His entire immediate family had been in Starfleet, but now Jonathan was the only one still in it. When his family had been part of Starfleet he didn't think the organisation was big enough to hold them all but now it felt strangely empty.

"So how is mum?"

"_She is still doing some teaching at the Academy, so she had something to do. But other then that she is trying to live with me being around 24-7."_

Jonathan nodded and both men went silent. That was the trouble with talking with his father, they would quickly run out of things to say and an uncomfortable silence would happen. Jonathan felt slightly ashamed, this was his father and he couldn't keep a conversation going with him!

"_Jonathan, I also have another reason to call you,"_ said Dalton. He looked uneasy as he spoke. _ "I know this is part of your past and you don't like talking about it, but I thought you should know…"_ Jonathan looked confused at his father. _"Melissa McKenzie died recently."_

Jonathan looked surprised, not at the revelation since he already knew but that his father would know and bring it up.

"_I'm sorry, Jonathan. I know she was someone you once cared for a lot. She was a…"_

"How do you know?" asked Jonathan.

"_I search the Starfleet lists of MIA and KIA everyday for friends and family. I also include the names of civilians and Melissa was part of the list of markers for the search to look for. You don't seem very surprised by this."_

Jonathan's head drooped. "I already know. I found out a few days after Operation Return, by accident. When I found out it was like someone had grabbed my heart and crushed it."

A look of concern and sympathy came to the older Masters' face. _"I am so sorry, son."_

Jonathan's head came up and he looked his father in the face. "So am I, but not for myself but for her. She had gotten her life together and was on course. Her death seems such a waste. She was a part of my past, a joyful and sorrowful part, but an important part none the less. I've let go of old regrets and I'm just happy to have known her, I don't deny that her death hurts, but I will not mourn her death. Instead I'll celebrate her life by living and never forgetting her."

Dalton looked proudly at his son. _"Your time in command has certainly matured you greatly. You'll do her proud, son."_

Before Jonathan could answer there was a beep as the internal communication system came on. Jonathan glanced upwards in anticipation of the message

"_Captain, Command is hailing you."_

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Patch it though to my Ready Room." Jonathan looked back at his father. "Thanks for the warning on the upcoming orders. I'll talk to you later."

Dalton nodded and said his goodbyes before ending the transmission.

Jonathan quickly loaded up the new transmission. A familiar face appeared on the screen.

"Admiral Austin. It is a pleasure to hear from you," greeted Jonathan.

"_It is good to speak to you too, Captain. I have some special orders for you."_

"Sir."

"_You are to take a reporter and her cameraman from the Federation News Service while they do a story on your vessel and the war."_

"Okay."

The Admiral looked surprised. He hadn't expected Jonathan's reply to be so neutral. _"You don't seem to be very surprised."_

"I expected that something like this was coming," lied Jonathan.

The Admiral looked even more surprised. _"How do you 'expect' that reporters are going to be thrown onto your ship?"_

Jonathan just shrugged.

A look of revelation came to the Admiral's face. _ "Someone has already told you, haven't they? Your father?"_

"I am…not at liberty to say, Admiral."

Admiral Austin smiled. _"Good to see that your father still keeps his nose in what is going on here at Command. Since I suspect you know most of the details we'll keep this brief. I'm transmitting the coordinates where you'll meet the FNS crew. Do you have any questions about this assignment?"_

"Yes, how free should we be with information?" asked Jonathan.

"_Don't give them any classified information of course. But all your missions in this conflict are not classified so you can tell them what you like, but each person knows what is classified in their past." _ The Admiral fixed a glare on Jonathan. _"But other then that let them see and hear what they want and don't be overly hostile to them. I don't want to see you punching the cameraman all over the FNS at the end of the week."_

Jonathan nodded. "I will try," he said seriously.

"_Any other questions, Captain?"_

"How does this affect our schedule?"

"_Apart from leaving position to go to the meeting place, you have no more changes. You are expected to return to your patrol after you pick them up."_

"Carrying civilians in a war zone is not a safe thing to do, Admiral."

"_We don't expect there to be too much activity in the area you and the 3__rd__ Tactical Wing are patrolling, Captain. That is one of the reasons you were chosen. We don't think you won't run into trouble but we only expect you to run into small groups of Attack ships hopping around the border. We want the reporters to see you in action, if we wanted them to just look at a ship we would have sent them to the San Francisco yards orbiting Earth instead of the front."_

"Admiral, I want to voice my disagreement with this assignment. I don't think civilians, especially reporters, should be sent to this ship at this time."

"_Noted, Captain. But it won't change anything. The reporter is already on her way and you will be there to meet her. Admiral Austin, out."_

* * *

><p>The <em>Swiftfire<em> was at Red Alert and the crew were at full battle stations.

Captain Masters looked at the time display on his armrest display. "How long until we drop out of Warp?"

"Thirty-four seconds," reported Ensign Cole.

The Captain nodded. Ensign Cole had grown in his confidence over the last few months, and in no short order thanks to the decades of experience that sat next to him. The operations manager, Lieutenant Karak, had almost mentored the young officer and the great thing it was all his own doing. It wasn't part of a plan by anyone else, Karak had simply done it. It spoke volumes about the Vulcan and his abilities and his role on the bridge. The Ensign was a much better officer now then he had been at the start of the cruise.

"Good. As soon as we do drop out of Warp I want a full sensor scan of the area and I want all targets to be lit up. Weapons are to lock on but do not fire unless I give the order. Are the fighters ready?"

"All fighters squadrons are prepared, Captain," reported Lieutenant Karak. "Shuttlebay reports they are ready to launch fighters from the forward and rear launching areas as soon as we come out of Warp."

Everything was going well. Commander Core looked over to Jonathan. "Do you think the Reporters will be upset?"

Jonathan shrugged. "I guess. We are going to be a little late for our meeting."

Commander Core scowled at Jonathan, bringing a smile to his face.

* * *

><p>"They're late," said Jimmy with concern. "You don't think something's happened to them? What if the Dominion destroyed the <em>Swiftfire<em>? We can't handle one Dominion Attack Ship let alone a force capable of destroying an _Akira_ class ship!"

Jasmine checked the sensors. They had taken down all the sensors, except for the forward array and transferred all available power to them, greatly boosting their power. So far the sensors were clear. "Don't worry, Jimmy," said Jasmine reassuringly. "This is space, not the San Francisco subway. You can't expect ships to be exactly on time."

Jasmine's words didn't seem to calm the young man down. He nervously fidgeted and muttered to himself. She got a shock as a klaxon suddenly went off. Jimmy was quick to respond.

"AFT PROXMITY ALERT!" he yelled.

Jasmine grimaced. This was not a good sign all their sensors were forward so that meant that someone could approached from the rear without detection, but for the proximity alert to go off that meant the object was close, too close. She checked the sensors, the vessel was showing at short range and by its course it was arcing to the right. Jasmine looked out of the right window to see if she could see the intruder.

A look of relief came to her face as she saw the familiar view of the saucer section deflector dish that was native to the _Akira_ class. The ship was displaying its ventral profile to the shuttle. As the nacelles came into views she noticed smaller objects launching from the front of the ship and from between the catamaran hull. Most of the objects moved away, but four came towards the shuttle.

"We're been hailed," said Jimmy, his voice shaky from the display. "Audio only."

"_This is the USS_ Swiftfire_, identify yourself and state your business."_

Jasmine answered the hail. "This is the Federation News Service Ship _Herald_. We are here to meet with you."

There was a brief pause as if the person was checking Jasmine's claims. _"_Herald_, your mission and identification has been verified. Four _Peregrine_ class ships are coming to escort you. You are to follow them, any deviation or acts we consider to be hostile will be met with a response. I handing you over to your escort."_

Jimmy looked over to Jasmine. "They're not kidding! I've got weapons locks from the ship and the fighters!"

Two of the four fighters came in front of the shuttle and flanked it. The other two were out of sight but the sensors told them that they were a fair bit behind them, with clear fields of fire.

"Herald_, this is your escort. Power up your engines and follow us at one quarter impulse. We'll be flying a simple course and we won't be doing anything tricky, your shuttle looks like it would fall apart if you tried anything strenuous."_

Jasmine followed her orders. "Much obliged."

The fighter slowly moved forward and the shuttle followed. The fighters made slow obvious moves so that the shuttle and its pilot were not surprised by what they did.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Jimmy. "Lucky I had the ship recording devices hooked up to the sensors to record if we got jumped, just in case something popped up."

"Good thinking, Jimmy. But what if we were attacked?"

"I also had it tied to the communications system. It would have sent a burst transmission as soon as weapons fire started and continued as long as it could…and before you ask about jamming, I thought of that too. The recordings are also backed up on a secondary storage device; it would have been jettisoned if the hull was breached," explained Jimmy proudly.

"You sure this is your first outing?" asked Jasmine.  
>Jimmy grinned. "You'll be surprised what you learn if you hang around the water cooler enough back at the office."<p>

Jasmine shook her head in amusement and then returned her concentration to flying. They were now travelling between the _Swiftfire's_ catamaran hull and towards the shuttlebay doors. There were two doors with each fighter going to separate doors; a short wing waggle from one fighter showed the reporter which fighter to follow. As the Shuttle entered she saw a deck officer directing them to land. She saw several people waiting close to their landing spot.

"Excellent, it looks like we have a reception committee."

* * *

><p>Jonathan watched as the two fighters landed close to the front of the Shuttlebay. One of the pilots quickly disembarked and jogged over to where Jonathan was. She came to a stop next to Jonathan.<p>

Wing Commander Maxine Benton took off her helmet and smiled at Jonathan. "Looks like you got a good reception committee."

Jonathan nodded as he looked at the people around him. He had all the ranking officers on deck, Commander Susan Core, Lt. Commander Whitechapel, Lt. Commander Pavlo Celcho, Dr. Carol Murphy, Colonel David Tiki, Maxine and himself. Plus they had two security officers and two Marines.

"Might as well as introduce everyone at once," said Jonathan.

He watched as the shuttle came in and to land. It was unlike the Starfleet shuttles that the _Swiftfire_ carried. For one thing it was very white and it had the grey FNS emblem displayed very prominently, so that it would be easy to identify the ship. The design was also different. It was domed and round, it resembled a small flying saucer with Nacelles connected to it, not a very aesthetically pleasing design but it was distinctive.

The Shuttle landed and its engines whine disappeared as the shuttle powered down. The back of the shuttle opened and two people came out, one female human and one male Ktarian. The female was dressed casually but smartly. She had short red wavy hair and as she came closer Jonathan noticed she had green eyes. She stretched out her hand to Jonathan.

"Captain Masters, I'm Jasmine Carter."

Jonathan took her hand and shook it lightly. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Carter."

"I've been a keen follower of your career," she said. Jasmine then pulled forward the other person with her. "And this is Jimmy, my holorecorder."

The noticeably excited man shook hands with Jonathan. The Ktarian was a tall man, close to Jonathan's height; he had light coloured hair but dark eyes.

"Jimmy was it?" asked Jonathan.

The Ktarian nodded and smiled broadly. "It's not my real name, but most people have difficultly pronouncing my real name, so they named me Jimmy. I think it is a reference to a 20th century superhero show. Batman, Spiderman, some type of man at least."

Jonathan nodded and gestured to the people around him. "Let me introduce you to the heads of the various ship departments." Jonathan walked down to the person at the end of the line. "Colonel David Tiki, head of the Marine contingent onboard of the _Swiftfire._" Both Jasmine and Jimmy shook hands with the Colonel and they exchanged greetings.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Colonel. I have to say your career has been very interesting," said Jasmine.

"This is Wing Commander Maxine Benton, head of the _Peregrine_ Fighter squadrons onboard."

"Maxine Benton? As in the pilot who was instrumental in the rescue of New Sheffield colonists and the defence of the USS_ Canberra_?"

Maxine tilted her head slightly. "The very same."

Jonathan moved to the next person. "This is Doctor Carol Murphy, Chief Medical Officer."

Jonathan watched Jasmine and saw the surprise in her face. There was no doubt that the reporter would have studied the crew dossier and would know all of them like the back of her hand but it was obvious that they hadn't gotten all the information on the Subspace time bubble incident.

"I must say your official record images don't give you justice, Doctor," complimented the reporter.

The Doctor just smiled and nodded.

"This is my Head of Engineering, Lt. Commander Pavlo Celcho."

Pavlo was the spoke before Jasmine could. "It is an honour to meet you. I have been an avid reader of your column."

"Thank you, Lt. Commander."

"This is Lt. Commander Nikki Whitechapel, my Head of Security."

"I have interview your father several times," said Jasmine. "He is an _interesting_ man."

Jonathan came to the final person. "This is my first officer, Commander Susan Core."

"Commander, it is good to see the Core family still part of Starfleet. Your father was a great officer."

Jonathan saw a flash of pain in Core's face as she shook hands with Jasmine. Susan's father had been one of the many officers to be killed at Worf 359. After the introductions were over Jonathan took the reporter and her cameraman aside.

"I'll have any luggage taken to your quarters, just point it out to the Marines and Security and they'll help you with what they can carry, as they escort you to your quarters."


	3. Chapter 2

Later that day in Jasmine Carter was looking around her quarters when the door chimed. She went and opened the door.

"Hi, Jimmy. How are your quarters?"

"Hi," said Jimmy as he came into the room. "Good, smaller then this but very nice. So what's the plan?"

Jasmine lead Jimmy to the table and both sat down. The table was covered in equipment.

"Well, I think we start with the Doctor. I checked the records again and the picture is definitely her but she looks around twenty years older. I checked her date of birth and the photo matches that, but her current appearance doesn't. I sent back to HQ for them to send me what they could find on Dr. Murphy and it matches what we have here. So something is up and I want to find out."

"It smells like an exclusive," said Jimmy excitedly.

"Or maybe she just had cosmetic surgery," countered Jasmine.

"That could still lead to a story, maybe she changed her appearance for a man or because she felt pressured to..."

"Settle down. Whatever it is we'll find out. After that we'll go and see the Marines, it would be interesting to get their perspective of this conflict and then the Fighter pilots. We'll finish off with the other heads, random crew members and the Captain."

"The crew seem like nice people, even the Captain. I thought he would be more hostile to us, I can't believe he would enjoy having reporters on his ship."

"He is ex-Admiral Dalton Masters son. The more I see of him the more he reminds me of his father."

"I know the Admiral's history," said Jimmy. "So is it a good thing or a bad thing that he is becoming more like his father?"

"I don't know."

* * *

><p>"This is an impressive Medical facility," commented Jasmine. Her and Jimmy were just taken on a tour of Sickbay by Dr. Murphy. Jasmine had seen several starship sickbays but the <em>Swiftfire<em> had to have one of the most impressive facilities she had seen.

"Thank you, Miss Carter. Is that all you need?" asked the Doctor.

"Just about. All we need now is an interview with you, Doctor. If that is alright?"

"Of course. Come into my office."

The Doctor led the reporters into her office. The office was located opposite the main entrance to Sickbay. It wasn't very private with large windows running around the walls, giving a view of the Sickbay and entrance. The office was dominated by a large desk with a computer station. Behind the desk was a large wall mounted viewscreen and console that was displaying a schematic of the sickbay and related facilities and had information as to what patients were where and their status. Also in the room was a smaller duty station, which currently was displaying some sort of enzyme. It looked slightly untidy and Jasmine guessed it was where the Doctor did most of her research.

The Doctor offered them a seat as she sat behind her desk. Jasmine accepted while Jimmy turned the offer down as he moved around so to get the best angle to record from.

"I'm just going to ask you some background questions to start off with," said Jasmine. "Then I'm going to move on to your views and experiences in the war so far."

The Doctor just nodded.

Jasmine turned to see if Jimmy was ready. Jimmy had set up the two small recording devices on stands, one to record the Doctor and one to record her. Normally Jimmy would have a camera connected to the headset he wore but when taking static interviews it was easier to place the camera on a stable object since if he had it he would have to be still for a while. This way was easier. Jimmy was still able to control the camera with his headset and it would follow the movements he made with his head. Jimmy moved he head around and made sure the camera was following his movements. He then pressed a button, which cut off his connection to the camera and nodded. Jimmy didn't need to control both cameras as the second one was just to record Jasmine as she asked questions and nodded and laughed. A small amount of that would be cut into the interview. As for the first he would probably need to zoom in and out from time to time, depending on the Doctor's response to some of the questions.

"Okay, let's begin. Doctor Murphy, how did you come to join Starfleet?"

"I never intended to join Starfleet. I always wanted to be a Doctor but I didn't have much of a wish to serve in the Fleet. So I went through a civilian medical school and my residency and was working at a hospital in Utopia Planitia when I, like all the qualified doctors in the area, was invited to Starfleet function. I went and it turned out that the function was so that Starfleet could sell itself to us. They said that they didn't have enough qualified Doctors serving in the fleet; they gave us a very good deal to switch from civilian Doctors to Starfleet doctors. I was lured with the promised of have the most advanced medical technology first and been on the cutting edge of medical technology. So I signed up for my two years at the Academy."

"Two years? Cadets normally need to go for four years."

"That's right, but part of the deal was we would only need to go for two. We were already qualified doctors, so most of the training was with the more advanced Starfleet toys and the usual zero-G training, weapons, etc. At least Starfleet didn't lie about that."

"What do you mean, Starfleet lied to you?" said Jasmine sounding surprised.

"Well, lied is a bit harsh. They just left out that they wanted us more to do with their conflict with the Cardassians then to go off and aid in exploration."

"You had to know that it would be a possibility when you joined?"

"Of course, we signed up for all Starfleet had to offer, good and bad. However, that doesn't stop you from feeling slightly angry at the recruiters when your pulled 40 plus hours and then can't sleep because of the constant attacks. The bulk of qualified doctors who went through the Academy with me were placed close to border."

"Where were you stationed?"

"Outpost M562."

"Sounds exotic!"

"Doesn't it. It was a dust ball of a planet, I don't even how why we were fighting for it, I guess it was strategically important. I was placed at the hospital there. I spent most of my time at field hospitals closer to the battlegrounds. It wasn't a pleasant experience. I guess Starfleet put people like me there because they thought since we were already qualified we would be use to death…it wouldn't have made a difference if I had forty years of experience, I would have still been shocked by my experiences."

"It doesn't sound like the best start of a career in Starfleet," said Jasmine sympathetically as she made a subtle gesture for Jimmy to zoom the camera in on the Doctor.

"That's an under statement. We lost around 40% of patients. We worked non-stop for days at a time. I saw new and old hands at the medicine game crumble mentally under the pressure and the environment. With all the death, it was hard for me. I struggled to stop from breaking down. It was as if no matter what we did we could not make a difference. This went on for two years before Starfleet finally gave up on the world," said Carol reflectively.

"It's hard to believe you stayed with Starfleet."

Carol nodded slowly. "It was a hard decision. Starfleet put me at a Medical Research Starbase, Starbase 212. It was a good change. I got to work on ways to save people, it felt as if I was making a difference. We did a lot of good work there. That's why I'm still in Starfleet."

"You have certainly had a hard career, Doctor. So how does it feel to be the Chief Medical Officer of a starship? It would feel like been back at your practice."

Carol smiled. "It does, except I don't treat children here…well if you don't count Commander Core."

Jasmine laughed politely. "It's a position with a lot of responsibilities, how are you handling it?"

"It can get tough, but I've got a great support staff of other doctors and nurses. Without them I wouldn't be able to do my job."

"I see we have to add modesty to your lists of attributes, Doctor. I must say you look very good for your age. The image of you in the Starfleet files Starfleet Command gave us doesn't give you credit." Jasmine casually pulled out a picture and handed it to the Doctor. "If I was you I'd have a word with the people who keep Starfleet records, the official image hardly looks like you!"

Carol accepted the picture and looked at it and smiled. "Not my best picture. They must have got my bad side."

"It's like you've become younger since you joined the _Swiftfire_. This image is only five months old and you look totally different."

"What can I say?" said Carol.

"You could tell us how you look so young? It's like you've had cosmetic surgery."

Carol laughed. "Nothing could be further from the truth!"

"So you have had something done to make yourself younger! What? Have you found a new way to make people appear younger without surgery?"

"No, Miss Carter. There is nothing wrong with aging, it happens to all of us…"

"But most people can't reverse the process," interrupted Jasmine.

"Without surgery, no."

"Then how do you look younger if you say you haven't had surgery?"

Carol signed. "It was an accident, a one in a million thing. I had no problem with the way I looked before. What happened to me is something I don't think you can replicate and I definitely don't think others should try to replicate the situation."

"Can you tell us how it happened?"

"We came into contact with a subspace tear and it collapsed, the Captain and I were hit with a wave of radiation, which I took the brunt of, the effect was it returned my cells to a previous, younger and better state. Like I said before it was a one in a million thing."

Jasmine looked confused as she consulted a PADD in her hand. "I don't have any records of the _Swiftfire_ encountering a subspace tear." Jasmine looked up to Carol, who just shrugged. It was obvious that the Doctor wasn't going to say anything else about it.

Jasmine smiled back at the Doctor. She liked mysteries and as a reporter she had the assets to work them out. "Thank you, Dr. Murphy. While we're here we'll try not to visit here other then to see you."

"Thank you. As you can see I have hardly any spare time at the moment," joked Carol.

Jasmine signalled for Jimmy to stop recording. She then stood up and leaned across the table and stretched out her hand. "Thanks for the interview, Doctor. I hope I didn't offend you with bringing up you becoming younger."

Carol stood and shook hands with Jasmine. "Don't think anything of it. I had an idea you would ask me about it."

"So can you tell me when this subspace tear took place?" asked Jasmine.

Carol laughed. "You don't give up, do you? I guess that is why you're a good reporter. I really can't tell you more then I have, I probably shouldn't have told you what I did. The events surrounding this are classified."

"All over just a bit of reversing the effects of time? It seems a bit much."

"That part doesn't matter; it has more to do with the subspace tear itself. As you know subspace tears are potentially very dangerous phenomena, so Starfleet thinks that keeping its details classified would be safer for everyone."

"I understand. When you're reporting on Starfleet you get use to the "need-to-know", classified business," explained Jasmine. "It wouldn't be the same if Starfleet officers told you everything."


	4. Chapter 3

"And this is the armoury," said Colonel David Tiki as he opened the door. He stepped into the room and was followed by the reporter and her cameraman. He heard the reporter let out a whistle. "Impressed?"

"I'll say," said Jasmine. "I didn't know Starfleet had this many different kinds of weapons for the Marine Corps! The only ones I know are the Type 2 Hand Phaser, the Type 3 Phaser Rifles, and the Isometric Disruptor. That is that?"

Tiki picked up the rifle. "This is what we call a Type 3M Phaser Rifle, the "M" stands for Modular." He picked up a strange looking end. "You can adjust it. One thing you can do is remove this head and place this one on. This then makes the rifle a sniper type of weapon. The head mutes the sound of discharge and also because of its special construction; it makes the beam or blast invisible to the naked eye. Combined with the LongSight scope you can hit a target very far away and without much indication of where the shot came from."

"That's pretty amazing."

"It is, but this is my favourite." The Colonel picked up a large, bulky rifle. "The Type 3 SAW."

"Saw? It looks more like a rifle to me," joked Jasmine.

"SAW is an acronym for Squad Assault Weapon. This rifle has a stunning rate of fire and also a large power pack. It also comes with a mini-launcher for grenades and other little explosive devices. It was built to give small squads of Marine some heavy hitting power."

"It's huge! Wouldn't carrying something of that size be a bit of a disadvantage for the personnel who had to carry it?"

"The designers thought of that too. Another little feature of this is that it comes with a small anti-grav device. It won't make it float in the air but it makes it so that the person carrying it is hardly disadvantaged. Though in training a few of my troops like to haul it around without the device on for strength training and so they know how they'll do if the anti-grav fails out on a mission. Here."

The Colonel handed the weapon to Jasmine, who was slightly apprehensive. She took hold of it, careful to not hold or even touch the trigger. As the Colonel let go Jasmine felt the full weight of it in her hands. It was heavy for her even with the anti-grav on; Jasmine didn't want to think about how it would feel without it on. Obviously the Marines were a lot stronger then she was.

"Given the right situation you could wipe out an entire regiment of Jem'Hadar with what you're holding," commented Tiki

Tiki observed the look on Jasmine's face and wasn't sure if she was in awe of the power she had in her hands or sickened by it. Tiki thought that the latter was more likely. Federation civilians were usually anti-conflict, not that Starfleet was pro-conflict, but Starfleet understood better then the average Federation civilian that weapons like this were essential to keeping the peace or at least keeping the enemy from just rolling through the Federation and leaving a trail of death and destruction.

The Colonel decided to take the challenge up to Jasmine. "You don't like the idea of these types of weapons, do you?"

Jasmine looked up at Tiki with a surprised look on her face. "That obvious is it?"

Tiki nodded.

"This weapon is only produced for one thing; to kill."

"Would you still say that if I told you it had a stun setting?"

"Does it?"

"No."

Jasmine handed the SAW back to Tiki. "See. The Federation isn't about killing people. It is about peaceful exploration and weapons like this make us look like hypocrites."

"But we would be stupid if we didn't have weapons like this. Just because we respect others doesn't mean they will respect us. Powers like the Dominion see the galaxy as their stomping grounds to conquer and pillage. If we are going to protect ourselves from these powers we need to fight them and kill them."

"I suppose you agreed with Starfleet's decision concerning the Ulairu system?"

The Ulairu system was a system just beyond the Federation border and close to Gorn space. The system was home to a very large pre-Warp species and to some very useful and valuable resources. Several months before the start of the Dominion War the Gorn had moved ships just outside the system. It became clear that they planned to subjugate the system for the resources. The Federation had sent a protest to the Gorn leadership but they ignored it and stated it was none of the Federation's business. It seemed that the Ulairi would suffer the same fate as the Bajoran had over 60 years ago.

But Starfleet was not going to see it happen. Under the command of Admiral Rekris a force of Starfleet ships met the Gorn invasion fleet at the edge of the system. A battle ensured and the Starfleet taskforce routed the Gorn invasion force. Neither the Gorn nor the Federation Council was very happy, though the Gorn were impressed by Starfleet's resolve and the political implications were low.

"Yes. I believe that because of our ideals we don't just have the duty to protect ourselves but to protect those who aren't as technologically advanced. They can't protect themselves from the likes of races like the Gorn or Dominion. If we let what happens to the Bajorans happen to other races we are really no better then the Gorn, Dominion or Cardassians. That would show that we are really hypocrites."

Jasmine listened and when it was clear that the Colonel was finished she smiled and turned to her cameraman. "That's a wrap."

Tiki was confused and Jasmine noticed and explained. "I'm sorry to lead you on but we need something that showed your personal view."

Tiki frowned displeasingly at Jasmine. "You could have just asked."

"I could have," said Jasmine. "But I doubt you would have been this passionate about it if you thought you were preaching to the converted."

Tiki was about to go on with it when flashing read lights came on and Commander Core's voice came over the intercom. _"Red Alert. Full battle stations. Miss Carter and associate report to the Bridge ASAP."_


	5. Chapter 4

"_Lead, I'm getting a faint signal or signals close to the moon of the sixth planet of the system."_

Wing Commander Benton adjusted her sensors to focus on the area. Since she was the highest ranking officer of the pilots she was often referred to as 'Lead' or 'Leader' when they were out on missions. This was because of her status as the leader of all the fighters and the fact she was also the squadron leader of Overcome Squadron. Her other squadron leaders, for Puma and Oasis Squadron, were also referred to as 'Lead' but more often were referred to as 'One' since they were number one in the squadron.

"I'm getting it also, Three," said Benton.

"_Should we check it out?"_ asked Overcome Three.

Benton brought up information on the system. The system was a group of eleven planets, no M-Class types, orbiting a star close to quadruple the size of Sol. The system was meant to be empty.

"Might as well. It's probably just a comet that strayed too close to those bodies. We'll make a micro-jump from here to the moon. I'm transmitting coordinates to you. Ready?"

The three other pilots who were part of Benton's patrol signalled affirmative and the group jump from open space…directly into a battlefield.

"_Jesus!"_ exclaimed one of the pilots as he saw the forces arrayed around them.

Directly ahead of the group were two Dominion Battle cruisers and around them were around a dozen Jem'Hadar Attack ships. Benton looked at her sensors, which were going crazy but not telling her anything.

"_Lead, I've got sensor jamming!"_

"_Same here, Lead."_

"_Lead, I see Starfleet Attack fighters!"_ came an excited cry from Three.

"Where?" asked Benton.

"_Attacking the second Battle cruiser, are they ours?"_

Benton looked and there were indeed Starfleet Attack fighters, but not from her squadrons. Apart from her patrol no other fighters from the _Swiftfire_ were anywhere near the area. The answer soon came, Benton was been hailed.

"_Unknown fighters, where the hell did you come from?"_ came a gruff male voice over Benton's communication system.

"We're from the USS_ Swiftfire_. We're patrolling this area of the border."

"_How far is your ship?"_

"Not far. Probably five minutes away."

"_Good. Now get them here, NOW! We have our ships coming in but they are quite a bit further away. Then once that is done, start blasting these Dominion ships!"_

* * *

><p>When Jasmine and Jimmy got to the Bridge they were greeted by two Marine guards. Commander Core quickly ushered them past the guards and to the centre of the Bridge.<p>

"Miss Carter, if you'll take a seat."

The Commander directed the reporter to the seat that would normally be filled by the Ship's Counsellor, if the _Swiftfire_ had one. Jasmine took a seat. Jimmy stood around looking for a seat.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have anymore vacant seats. If you could stand by that railing, you should be able to use it to support yourself if we start rocking."

Jimmy nodded and went off, making sure to film the various crewmembers doing their duties as they prepared to go into battle.

"So what's happening?" asked Jasmine.

"One of our fighter patrols has got themselves in some Dominion entanglements. We're going in to support them," explained Commander Core.

Jasmine looked at the Captain, but he ignored her and continued to watch the viewscreen as it showed the ship at Warp.

"Have you ever been in a battle, Miss Carter?" asked Commander Core.

"No," said Jasmine nervously.

"Don't worry, it's a breeze. You're on an _Akira_ class heavy cruiser. There are few things that can destroy one. I think you'll see a good demonstration of Starfleet firepower. Plus you'll get something to tell your grandchildren about," said Core.

Jasmine smiled at the Commander and hoped that the Commander's confidence was justified. The Captain, for one, didn't look all that confident.

"Dropping out of warp in ten seconds. Still no usable sensor data from target area," reported Lt. Commander Whitechapel.

Jasmine's eyes widened. It wasn't a good sign if they couldn't get sensor readings from where they were going. She again looked over to the Captain, but he still didn't acknowledge her.

"But targeting sensors should probably still work," continued Whitechapel.

Jasmine was confused by the last remark and was about to ask when the ship dropped out of Warp. She looked at the viewscreen and saw a pair of Jem'Hadar Attack ships. A Phaser beam lanced out and went between the two enemy ships. A second beam also went wide of the Attack ships.

"Problem, Lt. Commander?" asked the Captain surprising Jasmine. The Captain was still fairly still and she hadn't expected him to speak.

"I'm just having troubles with the Attack ships. I can't get a solid lock."

"Ignore them. Where are the Battle cruisers?" asked the Captain.

"Roughly bearing 148, mark 26 to the closest of the Battle cruisers."

"Helm, turn us to face that Battle cruiser."

Ensign Cole acknowledged the order and quickly started to reorientate the ship. The Battlecruiser soon came into view. Jasmine's breath was taken away as she saw a Dominion Battlecruiser live for the first time. She had seen many over the last year as part of the FNS but they looked more menacing and dangerous in person.

"Tell all fighters to avoid that Battle cruiser," ordered the Captain. "We don't want to accidentally hit them instead."

"Message sent," responded Lieutenant Karak.

"Good. I want a full spread of torpedoes at that ship when I give the order."

"Yes, sir."

The _Swiftfire_ closed on the Battle cruiser. Jasmine flinched as she saw the blue-grey energy blast from the Battle cruiser's Phased Polaron weapons close on the _Swiftfire._ The ship rocked as several of the blasts hit the ship's shields. The Battle cruiser continued to grow and as it did the _Swiftfire_ started to rock more frequently as the Battle cruiser increased its fire and also started to hit the _Swiftfire_ more.

The Captain waited until they were, in Jasmine's opinion, uncomfortably close to the Battle cruiser. "Full spread, now!"

A wave of quantum torpedoes quickly appeared and just as quickly impacted on the Battle cruiser's shields. The front shields of the Battlecruiser buckled and three torpedoes passed through and impacted on the hull, doing tremendous damage.

The viewscreen seemed to jump up as Ensign Cole moved the ship so to pass over the top of the Battle cruiser.

"Ensign, go vertical!" ordered the Captain forcefully.

The stars spun as the _Swiftfire_ pulled straight up.

"Launch torpedoes from the rear tubes!"

The viewscreen suddenly changed and sawed the ventral side of the Battle cruiser as the _Swiftfire_ pulled away from the Battle cruiser. Again the blue streaks of quantum torpedoes came into view and travelled their short but violent course. The ventral shields provided some protection but they were no where near full strength from the fighters' attacks and the _Swiftfire's _first bombardment, which damaged the ventral shields and also helped to interrupt power flow in the Battle cruiser. The torpedoes ripped into the hull of the Battle cruiser and exploded. The Battle cruiser literally fell apart as large sections of the hull were liberated from the rest of the ship. The Battle cruiser was mortally wounded and was now a dead, floating hulk in space.

Jasmine heard a low "Yes!" from Jimmy as the Battle cruiser split apart but other then that the Bridge crew didn't make any notable reaction.

"Captain," said Whitechapel, getting Jasmine's attention. "That Battle cruiser must have been producing the sensor jamming; we're now getting a complete picture of the area."

"Give me a count of friendlies and hostiles."

Whitechapel did a quick scan of the area. "All four of our patrol fighters are here along with twenty other _Peregrine_ class Attack Fighters. One Battle cruiser remains, but it is heavily damaged, as well as seven Jem'Hadar Attack ships."

"Order the fighters to take on the Attack ships; we'll deal with the remaining Battle cruiser," said the Captain.

Jasmine watched as the crew went about their tasks. They were a well oiled machine. Being in battle didn't faze then or make them appear more concerned. Each Bridge member knew what to do and they did it. Even when EPS units overloaded and sparks showered down from the ceiling they didn't flinch. Despite the display by the Bridge crew Jasmine couldn't replicate it. Every impact on the shields had her gripping the armrest of the chair so tight that her knuckles were white. She ducked with every spark and she started to perspire when the _Swiftfire's _port shield arc strength percentage was reduced to single digits. But in the end she made it. She had survived her first space battle.

"Area secured," reported Whitechapel. "Wing Commander Benton is requesting permission to bring her patrol back onboard."

"Give her permission. And Lt. Commander, tell her good work."

"What about the other fighters?" asked Commander Core. "We should take them onboard and clear the area before Dominion reinforcements arrive."

Captain Masters nodded and motioned towards Karak. "Hail, the fighters and tell them they can come onboard."

Karak simply nodded and went on with the orders.

For the first time since she came on the Bridge the Captain turned to face her. "So Miss Carter, how did you find your first combat experience?"

"It was…exciting," said Jasmine with a smile. "I just glad this wasn't my last experience."

"Excuse me, Captain," interrupted Karak. "We are been hailed by another Federation starship."

"Another starship? We're the only allied ship in this area, are you sure?"

"Of course, Captain. I would not lie to you."

Jasmine saw Captain Masters give the Vulcan an apologetic nod. "On screen."

Jasmine viewed the viewscreen with interest. The presence of Starfleet Attack Fighters where they were proved that they weren't the only Federation asset in the area. Jasmine supposed that it was the "mother" ship of the fighters.

"Admiral Douglas!" said Jasmine in surprise as the person appeared on the viewscreen.

The two pip female Rear Admiral looked in Jasmine's direction with surprise. The Admiral's dark, brown eyes fixed on Jasmine.

"_Yes and who might you be?"_ asked the Admiral.

Jasmine was embarrassed with her outburst. She had forgotten she was on the Bridge of a warship. But she had been surprised to see the Admiral. The Admiral was part of the Fifth fleet and therefore Jasmine had known quite a bit about Admiral Jennifer Douglas. The last report she had seen was that Admiral Douglas was on her way back to Earth with some of the ships that had taken part in Operation Return. Obviously that report was less then accurate.

Captain Masters saved Jasmine from some of her embarrassment. "Admiral Douglas, this is Miss Jasmine Cater from the FNS. I wasn't aware you were operating in this area."

"_I don't expect you would have. It _was_ a secret. We're just rounding the moon now and my task force will be with you soon."_

"Task force?"

"_Questions can wait, Captain. For the time been you are ordered to stay where you are while we sort this out."_

The viewscreen returned to show space as the transmission was ended.

"Captain, I'm sorry…" said Jasmine apologetically.

"It is okay, Miss Carter. I was as surprised as you, well, maybe not as surprised, to see the Admiral here. I remember seeing the _Venture_ leave DS9 a while ago for Earth."

"Several ships are appearing from behind the moon," reported Karak. "They are the USS _Venture_, USS _Brisbane_, USS _Cartwright_, USS _Sparrow_, USS…"

"That's fine, Lieutenant. Just tell me how many Starfleet ships are out there?"

"There are sixteen Starfleet ships!" said Whitechapel surprised. "The other ships are also ships from the 59th Tactical Wing."

They had served with the 59th Tactical Wing while with the Fifth Fleet earlier in the war.

"That is a sizable 'secret' force. I wonder what they are up to?" said Commander Core.

"I think I have some answers," jumped in Lieutenant Letac. "There's a Dominion installation on that moon…well, it's the remains of an installation. A pair of runabouts just lifted off from close to the remains of the installation and are heading for the USS_ Venture_. The fighters are returning to the _Cartwright_."

"Looks like we stumbled in on a little operation," said Commander Core.

"It can't have been a terribly well planned operation if they needed us to save them," added Ensign Cole.

"There is no such thing as the perfect operation, Ensign. Something obviously went wrong and they were lucky we were close by."

"Yes, Captain," responded Cole. "So what do we do?"

"The only thing we can: sit here and wait."

As a reporter you would expect them to be use to waiting for things to happen and patience was said to be needed for the professions, but no reporter liked to wait and Jasmine was no different. But she also had no choice so she got comfortable because this was where the action was and she wasn't going anywhere.


	6. Chapter 5

Captain Jonathan Masters materialised on one of the transporter pads on the _Galaxy_ class, USS_ Venture_. He stepped off the pad and was greeted by a security officer who informed him that he would be taken to the Admiral's ready room.

The Admiral had communicated with them twenty minutes after she had arrived in the system and had asked for Jonathan to come onboard. The reporter, Jasmine Carter, had tried to get him to let her go with him. But Jonathan was pretty sure that Admiral Douglas wouldn't be pleased with the presence of a reporter in this system let alone on her ship during her mission, whatever that was!

This wasn't the first time Jonathan had been on the _Venture_. Over a year before Jonathan travelled on the _Venture_ with the bulk of the crew of the _Swiftfire_ after the incident involving the USS_ Fury._ The _Swiftfire_ had been severely damaged when he had pushed its engines too hard on its first time out. The mission in the end had been a success but it had cost the life of Captain Whiting, the captain of the USS_ Fury_ and a friend of Jonathan's. The _Venture_ had arrived later and towed the _Swiftfire_ to the nearest Starfleet facility for repairs. Because the damage had been extensive all of the crew, with the exception of a repair team, were moved to the _Venture_ for the voyage. In the year since then the _Venture_ had changed little.

The security officer escorted Jonathan into the ready room before been dismissed by the Admiral.

"Good to see you, Captain Masters," warmly greeted Admiral Douglas.

Jonathan approached her and shook hands with her. "You too, Admiral. It is surprising to see you here. I thought the _Venture_, along with the 59th, where back at Utopia Planitia for repairs."

"Officially we are."

"And unofficially?" probed Jonathan.

The Admiral lent back and clasped her hands. "Tell me Captain, what do you think is the Dominion's greatest weakness?"

Jonathan was taken back by the change of direction. It took him a few seconds to get his thoughts into gear. He answered, "The Jem'Hadar."

"The Jem'Hadar what? Attack ships, tactics, what exactly?"

"The Jem'Hadar themselves. They may be stronger, faster, stealthier, don't need sleep, and don't eat, but they need Ketracel White. A special drug that needs to be specially produced and is ritually handed out and without that Jem'Hadar don't just die like we would if we had no food, they no insane and they go and find things to kill, whether it be their enemies or friends. The beauty of it is they don't last weeks as we would with little food; they last days at the most. So all we have to do is disrupt a shipment of White to a garrison and they'll kill themselves.

"The Founders thought it was the perfect way to control the Jem'Hadar and given the logistics they would probably have in the Gamma Quadrant I would agree with them. But they are a long way from home now. The Wormhole is ours and they have only had a year to set up the logistics to support their forces. They may have a numerical advantage, but they also have an immense tactical disadvantage."

The Admiral nodded and stood up and moved to a wall mounted monitor. The monitor displayed a top down view of the front. Several "landmarks" were on the display like Deep Space 9 and Cardassia Prime. The Admiral ran her finger alone a section of the border. The monitor zoomed in on the area for a more local view. "The Dominion has set up a dozen front line installations in this area. They are a risk to the forces operating along this area. Left unchecked, ships like the _Swiftfire_ who are on lone patrol would get destroyed easily. Plus with the forces and infrastructures they would have here, they would be able to make an easy break from here all the way to the core. We can't allow that to happen.

"I agree with your take on the Dominion. The sixteen ships that were part of the 59th have been reformed into Task Force 59 and given the task of removing the threat. We would not be able to destroy all the installations around this area and we are all Starfleet is willing to put to this mission. So the easiest thing to do is to stop the flow of KW to these installations and force the Dominion to give them up."

That was the first time the Admiral had identified the force she was leading. Jonathan noted it in his memory for future reference. "But no supply convoys have been anywhere near this area of the front," pointed out Jonathan. "In my mission profile I was given the frequency of Dominion activity on my patrol route and while it is a good area for the odd Dominion hunting pack to make forays over the border there have been no supply convoys in the area."

"That is correct. These installations are meant to be secret so a convoy coming in the area every week would be a give away. But small groups of Dominion ships jumping around wouldn't be a give away, since this is a known "soft" spot in our defences. What do you know about the Dominion Super Carrier?"

Jonathan crossed his arms and stroked his goatee as he delved into his knowledge bank. "All I know is what is in the Dominion ship threat list. Large Dominion warship, 900 metres long. It has the ability to carry several Attack ships, but it serves the same purpose as 20th century Navy Assault ships. It is designed to ferry large numbers of troops to a combat zone and deploy them with everything they need. Not really well armed and has to really rely on escorting ships for protection. Why is there one in the area?"

"Yes. One thing they isn't in the file is that they carry their own Ketracel White production facility," said Douglas.

Jonathan's mouth dropped open. "Are you sure? That gives the Dominion the ability to strike out at areas far from their supply lines and stay for a prolonged campaign!"

"That is why there are priority targets. We didn't know about this until recently, one of our spies in the Cardassian Military got us the details. We knew a carrier was in the area but we didn't make the connection between it and supplying the bases. That is how they are supplying these forward installations. But if we destroy it we'll cripple the Dominion operations in this area. But the problem is finding it."

"That's what you were doing today when we stumbled on you," said Jonathan connecting the dots.

Admiral Douglas nodded without shame. "That was a small Dominion listening post. Not very important so we thought a fighter squad or two and an away team would be able to get it. But because of the jamming the fighters were not aware of the increased forces in orbit. The fighters engaged but our assault teams made it to the installation without a hitch and captured the installation and called us in. But if you didn't arrive when you did it is likely we would have lost all the fighters and the installation would have been recaptured. So we owe you our thanks, for the lives of the pilots and the assault team, plus for the information we captured."

"Glad to help, Admiral. I have a question, do you know why there were increased forces guarding the installation?"

"They weren't there to guard the installation. From the information we captured it appears that they were getting ready to go out and attack you on your patrol as you passed close by."

Jonathan smirked. "Looks like we both caught a lucky break."

"Yes we did, Captain," agreed the Admiral. She then turned and made her way back to her desk. "But now we need to figure out what to do with you and your ship."

"It would be an honour to join you in this mission, Admiral," said Jonathan putting on his best respective voice.

"No doubt. But you have a civilian onboard, a reporter no less! I think the best thing would be to send you back to DS9…"

"I, respectively, disagree, Admiral," interrupted Jonathan. "I've seen your taskforce and it isn't that flash. All your ships need to go to Spacedock for repairs and you lack the extra firepower and flexibility the _Swiftfire_ would provide you."

"I would _love_ to have the _Swiftfire_ with us. I don't have any _Akira's_ with me so I do lack the heavy torpedo firepower of your ship…but you still have a reporter with you."

"It would be great PR for Starfleet, Admiral."

"If we succeed."

"Yes, but if we don't we'll either all be killed or we can push the Reporters out of an airlock so they can't report it to anyone."

"Push them out of an airlock?" asked Douglas surprised.

"Accidents do happen, Admiral. But I don't think you're really going to send us home."

The Admiral raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"You wouldn't have briefed me on the details of your mission if you wanted to just send us back to DS9. You need us."

The Admiral laughed. "I like your confidence, Captain. It is true; I do need you for this mission. We're pretty sure we know where the Carrier is going to be and when to hit it. We've even drawn up a plan of attack with your ship involved." The Admiral picked up a PADD and placed it in Jonathan's hand, but didn't let go. "But I must warn you, Captain. Once I find you useful for Task Force 59, very soon you'll find yourself in my web."

Jonathan gently pulled the padd out of her grasp. "Admiral, once you've used us for something you're going to wonder how you lived your life without us."

* * *

><p>Jasmine Carter impatiently rapped her knuckles on the window of her quarters. She looked out at the Starfleet ships arrayed around them and especially at the large <em>Galaxy<em> class Starship. The _Galaxy_ was a strange vessel. It was the largest, in mass, Starfleet exploration/warship in the fleet. Lauded as the pinnacle in starship design back when it was launch, over ten years ago, the _Galaxy_ was supposed to be the last name in exploration vessel. It had a huge flat oval saucer with a comically thin neck connecting it to an equally flat engineering section with oddly short Warp nacelles. It was crammed with science labs, conference rooms, quarters for it's over thousand strong passengers and everything else that the designer thought they could fit in.

What was strange was that it was filled with civilians! It included crewmember's family, children, and the odd pet. In Jasmine's eyes it was a tad silly to put civilians on a ship that is meant to go into the dangerous unknown. Even after the loss of the USS_ Yamato_ with its entire crew and all the civilians onboard Starfleet didn't change its policy. Then the near tragedy with the USS_ Enterprise_-D when the engineering section was destroyed and the saucer was forced to crash land on the planet. The investigation following that incident found that if the _Enterprise_-D just had its crew the saucer would not have crashed on the planet and would have been salvageable. But thanks to the increased hostilities with the Dominion Starfleet reversed its order and banned any starship from travelling around with entire families onboard for reason other then humanitarian reasons or because of an emergency. Jasmine thought that a number of smaller ships would have been better then a big _Galaxy_ but she wasn't a professional Starfleet tactician and since they were still building _Galaxy_ class vessels then they must have a useful purpose.

But she would have given anything to be on it right now. Captain Masters had refused her when she asked to join him when he was summoned to the USS_ Venture_. She had thrown reason after reason at him and he had just kept saying 'no'. So the best she could do was look at the vessel from a distance.

"A slip for your thoughts?"

Jasmine jumped in surprise and angrily turned. Jimmy had entered her quarters without her noticing. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Jimmy raised his hands in mock defence. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You still upset that the Captain didn't take us on the USS_ Venture_?"

"Sort of," admitted Jasmine. "I didn't think he would but it doesn't mean I'm not disappointed. I would have loved to interview the Admiral or recorded their meeting."

"I'm sure a Starfleet Admiral following secret orders would _love_ to have the FNS in her face," said Jimmy. He had moved next to Jasmine and looked out at the _Venture._ "I always had a thing for the _Galaxy_ class," he admitted.

"I don't really like them," said Jasmine.

"Nobody's perfect."

Jasmine rolled her eyes.

"Looks like the meeting is over," pointed out Jimmy.

The _Venture_ and the other ships were moving. The _Swiftfire_ joined in. The task force regrouped and needed out of the system.

"Let's get to the Bridge. I want to know what is going on."

Jasmine stepped onto the Bridge and was immediately greeted by the Captain, who was facing the other way. "Good to see you again, Miss Carter."

Not fazed by the Captains magical perception Jasmine continued towards him. "What's going on?"

"We are making you a story. This is a scoop which no one else is going to get and you get to view it from the front row."

"What are you talking about?" Jasmine was extremely confused as this point.

"In one swoop we're going to break the back of the Dominion in this area of space. Have a seat. I hope your recording Mr Jimmy."

"Ah…I am, sir."

"Good. I wouldn't want you to miss a thing."


	7. Chapter 6

The Dominion Super Carrier imaginatively named C-4194 silently glided through space. Despite been in Cardassian space it was flanked by an impressive array of Dominion warships, the Carrier was not an easy target. On its own it would be different. The ship was large but not well armed or armoured. It needed escorting ships to prevent opportunistic enemy vessels from destroying it. But this vessel also had more protection then most. Starfleet might not have been advertising it but it was impossible for the Dominion not to notice that its forward operating carrier group was been hunted.

So when a Starfleet task force dropped out of warp close by, the carrier group commander wasn't surprised. The reaction from the Dominion escort group was instantaneous. The bulk of the escort group moved to intercept while two Battle cruisers stayed, flanking the carrier just in case. The Attack ships surged ahead of the slower larger Dominion ships and engaged the Starfleet formation. The Dominion had the tougher job. Though they outnumbering the Starfleet force the Dominion had to stop the Starfleet ships from getting to the carrier. The carrier was not able to make a quick escape, since the Starfleet task force had chosen a spot where the carrier had limited escape routes. If the Starfleet ships could break through the carrier would be in trouble.

Surprisingly the Starfleet forces engaged the Dominion escort. They didn't make any breaks or even try. They engaged the escorts and started to battle it out. This did surprise the Dominion carrier group commander. Instead of taking the carrier to the nearest open escape route he stopped the carrier where it was. Sure enough at the time the carrier was meant to be close to its exit point a _Galaxy_ class starship dropped out of warp. With its target out of range the _Galaxy_ quickly reorientated itself towards the carrier. Both Battle cruisers broke formation and moved to stop the largest ship in the Federation fleet from getting a bearing on the carrier.

But the main show was only just about to start. The main Starfleet force had been carefully manoeuvring the Dominion formation and without arousing suspicion a small lane was created through the Starfleet and Dominion formation. And out of no where a single _Akira_ class starship burst out of warp. It was such a surprise to the Dominion escort group that an Attack ship would be destroyed from being rammed by the _Akira_ class starship. The lane created for the _Akira_ wasn't wide enough for the _Akira_ to fit normally but skilful piloting from the _Akira's_ pilot and the _Akira_ twisted its way through the larger Dominion ships. All this took only a few seconds and a Starfleet ship had penetrated the Dominion defences and had a clear run towards the carrier.

* * *

><p>Captain Masters took a quick look around the Bridge. "Is everyone alive?"<p>

"Just great thank you. What about a few snacks? We don't have anything better to do?" joked Commander Core.

Jonathan smiled to himself. The Admiral had been right about needing the _Swiftfire_. It was the only _Akira_ class starship that was part of the task force and it had essential to the plan. The data retrieved from the Dominion listening post had been disturbing. It showed that the Dominion was very much aware of the task force hunting the carrier. The carrier's escort group had nearly tripled and was more then a match for the Starfleet task force hunting them. The Starfleet group could probably charge the carrier and destroy it but once that was done it was very unlikely many or even any Starfleet ships would escape. So this plan was devised. The _Akira_ had four impulse engines giving it a tremendous thrust capacity at impulse, that plus the manoeuvring thrusters around the ship made it very manoeuvring for its size. It was also one of the heaviest armoured, shielded and armed vessels in Starfleet. If any vessel could ram its way through a little opening in the enemy's line, it was the _Akira_.

"Damage report?" requested Jonathan.

"Despite the increased power to forward shields and structural integrity ramming the Jem'Hadar Attack ship has caused damage. Some of the debris from the destruction of the Attack ship penetrated the shields and has caused some hull damage to the front of the saucer section and to the dorsal and ventral sides," reported Karak.

"Tactical, prepare to fire at the Carrier."

The ship rocked from weapons fire.

"Captain, we're getting ranged from one of the Battle cruisers engaging the _Venture_," reported Letac.

"Are they coming after us?"

"Yes. One Battle cruiser has broken off from the _Venture_ and several Attack ships and a Strike Cruiser are coming from behind."

"That means we won't have many passes at the Carrier," said Commander Core.

"We better get started straight away then. Fire at the Carrier, Lt. Commander."

* * *

><p>The <em>Swiftfire<em> fired its impressive long range arsenal at the Carrier. A ship the size of the Dominion Super Carrier had no chance of avoiding the torpedoes. The best it could do was to reinforce the shields being hit and to try and share the damage with the other shields, so to limit torpedoes' damaging effects. The _Swiftfire_ closed and opened fire with its Phaser arrays. The Carrier's shields wavered under the onslaught. They're dropped for the briefest moment and several Phaser beams hit the hull before the emergency shields came up and held the assault at bay.

The _Swiftfire_ shot over the top of the Carrier and looped back for another pass. Again one of the Carrier's shields dropped as the _Swiftfire_ made a quick pass. The _Swiftfire_ bombarded the ventral shields of the carrier as it flew over. The ventral shields also dropped. The _Swiftfire's_ constant attack was taking its toll. The carrier's shields were on the verge of total collapse and once they were down the _Swiftfire_ would have an easy time piercing the carrier's weak armour and destroying the ship.

The _Swiftfire_ pulled a tight loop and went back for the kill. This time the carrier's shields provided much less resistance. The _Swiftfire's _phasers and torpedoes pierced the shields and carved into the hull of the Carrier. It seemed to be the end of the road for the carrier.

* * *

><p>Jasmine watched the viewscreen with awe. The carrier's port side was in flames. The <em>Swiftfire<em> again went to fly over the Carrier. Jasmine was amazed by the small amount of return fire from the Carrier. For such a large ship it was very poorly armed. She then realised why it needed such a large escort.

Then suddenly the universe started to spin. Jasmine has thrown forward as the _Swiftfire_ came to a violent stop. Jasmine hit the deck hard and felt the wind been knocked out of her. She cringed in pain from the fall. She felt someone grab her shoulder and turned her over. Captain Masters knelt over her.

"Miss Carter, are you okay?"

Despite the pain she was feeling Jasmine nodded. The Captain helped her up and half carried her to her seat.

"What…happened?" asked Jasmine.

"The Dominion Battle cruiser managed to grab us from above with a few tractor beams. It was enough to stop us in our tracks."

"What now?"

"Either we do something or we die."

"Something? Don't you have a plan?"

A grim smile tugged at Jonathan's lips. "Yes, don't die."

"That's your plan?"

But the Captain was already moving away. He started issuing orders. She looked around and saw that only half of the Bridge crew had managed to get back to their stations. She looked around for Jimmy and saw he looked okay. He was standing and filming as one crewmember was helping another. He looked back at her and gave her a thumbs up. She returned the gesture and focused on what the Captain was doing.

"…anything?" asked the Captain.

"The Impulse engines are at maximum, sir. We're not even moving a nano," said Ensign Cole.

"Lt. Commander Whitechapel, are you having any luck?"

"No. The Battle cruiser is not in our torpedo arcs and the Phasers aren't breaching their shields. Plus without any movement all I have is a few Phasers able to lock onto the Carrier and they used our downtime to get shields up between us and them."

"What about support?"

"Half of the force that was after us went after the _Venture_ when the Battle cruiser disengaged, so the _Venture _can't help us. The rest of the task force can't either. The Battle cruiser is starting to seriously weaken our shields as well, plus their reinforcements are going to arrive very soon."

Jasmine wasn't heartened by the Captain's next action. He just stopped and stood still on the Bridge. He looked defeated. They were trapped between one almost crippled Dominion warship, one Battle cruiser and a number of reinforcements. And it appeared as if there was nothing he could do about it.

"Captain," said Jasmine. The Captain didn't move. "Captain!" said Jasmine, louder this time, but he still didn't do anything. "CAPTAIN," yelled Jasmine. "Do something! You've got to do something! I don't care if you have to throw rocks at the Dominion but do something!"

The Captain looked over his shoulder at Jasmine. "What?"

"I said, 'I don't care if you have to throw rocks'…"

The Captain suddenly came alive. "That's it! Lieutenant Letac, give me your station!"

The Lieutenant gave up her station to the Captain without question.

"Captain to Engineering."

"_Engineering here,"_ came the reply of Lt. Commander Celcho over the intercom.

"Lt. Commander, can we jettison a Warp core?"

Celcho's reply was a bit hesitant._ "Yes, it was one of the new safety innovations they installed on the _Swiftfire._ But neither of the warp cores needs to be ejected."_

"Noted. How long would it take for you to eject one of those warp cores?" asked Jonathan.

"_The Core can be ejected in as little as twenty seconds."_

"Eject a core."

"_What? Which one?"_ asked Celcho disbelievingly.

"It doesn't matter. Just eject a core."

"_As ordered Captain."_

The crew looked at the Captain questioningly. But he kept working with the Science console. Jasmine thought that the Captain had flipped. Eject a Warp core was a fairly drastic measure, even with good reason, but this was just bizarre.

"Lt. Commander Whitechapel, I want power from everything but life support and tractor beams redirected to dorsal shields, structural integrity and inertial dampeners in that order, right now. Everyone else, hold on tight."

* * *

><p>The viewscreen changed to show the still burning Carrier. It must have been quite badly damaged as it hadn't moved very far from the <em>Swiftfire<em> and the fact it was still leaking oxygen to fuel the fires burning from the hull breaches meant it didn't even have enough power to erect enough emergency forcefields to stop the leaks.

Into view appeared a Warp core. The core was wrapped in a wavering blue light that could only be a tractor beam. The Warp core continued towards the carrier. The Carrier was unable or unaware of the threat and no weapons fire attempted to destroy the core in flight. The Core smashed into the shields protecting the Carrier and exploded.

The explosion was huge and the hastily erected and damaged shields protecting the carrier buckled almost immediately. The hull of the Carrier then crumpled as if it was made of paper. The force of the explosion threw the carrier away like a rag doll before its firestorm caught up and engulfed it. The destruction of the large Dominion warship was just about unnoticeable in the Warp core explosion.

The _Swiftfire_ was further away from the point of the explosion but it was still close enough to feel the force of it. The force wave hit the _Swiftfire_ with enough strength to force it away, despite the heavy tractor beams holding it in place. The force of the _Swiftfire's_ sudden movements also broke the tractor beam lock on the ship. The _Swiftfire's _impulse engines were at full throttle and the _Swiftfire_ immediately accelerated forward. But the _Swiftfire_ couldn't get away. The fire and explosion caught the Swiftfire and engulfed it.

The Dominion Battle cruiser was slightly further away then the _Swiftfire_ but still got the same treatment. The force wave hit the large ship moving it as if it was a feather. But the Battle cruiser wasn't as prepared as the _Swiftfire_ was. It had been duelling with a _Galaxy_ class starship and hadn't put a large amount of energy in the shields facing the explosion. The force wave over came some of the ships structural integrity and crushed the bottom decks up and into the Battle cruiser. This helped to cause damage to the dorsal shield grid and when the explosion hit the shields failed quickly and assaulted the Battle cruiser's hull.

Several smaller Dominion ships were unfortunate to be close to the _Swiftfire_ and were treated to the same treatment. Out of the ships that were in the radius of the explosion, only two came out intact, the Dominion Battle cruiser and the _Swiftfire_, both in various stages of damage.

The _Swiftfire's_ dorsal side's once pristine grey hull had almost been totally blackened. It looked as if someone had cooked one side of the ship. The Battlecruiser didn't look as good. The _Swiftfire_ was also the only ship to be moving under its own power. The _Swiftfire_ turned to the Battle cruiser and manoeuvred until it was facing the heavily damaged section and fired six torpedoes. The torpedoes hit the hull of the Battle cruiser and drove deep into the weakened hull before exploding. The Battle cruiser was rocked by several secondary explosions that ripped it to shreds.

The Dominion forces collapsed after this. With the loss of the Carrier the Dominion formation fell apart. The main Starfleet group went totally on the offensive. Since before they were mainly trying to keep the Dominion forces engaging them and not the _Venture _or the _Swiftfire_. They broke through and assisted the still struggling USS_ Venture_ that was still duelling with a Battle cruiser and several smaller Dominion warships. In true Jem'Hadar fashion the entire carrier group went down to the last ship.

With the Dominion Carrier group reduced to rubble the Starfleet task force gathered and headed back toward friendlier territory.


	8. Chapter 7

A small Type 6 Shuttle cruised slowly along the bottom of the blackened hull of the USS_ Swiftfire_. Onboard Captain Masters pointed to the hull.

"That was a Type X Phaser array. The explosion cooked it. It is totally useless now and will have to be replaced."

Jasmine Carter, who was seated next to him nodded as if she could see it. The damage was very extensive and it was difficult to tell one part of the blackened hull from another. "So what does that leave you with?"

"Basically we only have the ventral Phaser arrays and the torpedo launchers in the pod. The launchers on the dorsal side were also cooked and damaged beyond salvage. We're basically at half combat strength."

"I don't think I've seen anyone use the Warp core as a projectile before," said Jasmine.

"We've got you to thank, Miss Carter. You gave me the idea to throw it at them, but they are rather expensive items to be using as glorified missiles. It's lucky we've got two onboard."

"Maybe they'll make it a proper Starfleet manoeuvre and name it after you?" suggested Jasmine.

Jonathan laughed. "I doubt it. Most ships don't have the luxury of dual Warp cores. Once you lose your only Warp core you then can't go to Warp and you have to operate at reduced power."

"It was risky but it paid off," stated Jasmine. "You were right about it being an exclusive and us having front row seats. It was almost too close."

"What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger," reminded Jonathan. "I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Why are you interested in the _Swiftfire_? We're no _Enterprise_ or _Defiant_."

Jasmine nodded as if she expected the question. "It's simple. You're Jonathan Masters, the son of the great Admiral Dalton Masters."

Jasmine saw a flash of anger in Jonathan's eyes. Like most children, Jonathan didn't want to be in his father's shadow. "You're father was a great officer. I worked with a reporter whose primary task was to report on your father. Despite the fact I came into it late in your father's career I was amazed by him and his career. I can see you going down the same path. You've already got your first Medal of Valour and the way you're going you probably going to earn more before this war is over. You are going to be a great officer and as a reporter I'm always interest in where the story is or where it is going to be."

"I take it you think the story is going to be me?"

Jasmine nodded. "One day soon," promised the reporter.

Jonathan looked away from Jasmine and out into space. "Well, I don't know whether to be excited or worried."

"Personally, I would be both," said Jasmine. "Think of it as your unalterable destiny."

Jonathan still looked off into space. "I not sure I believe in destiny. The idea that your life is really out of your hands and you're on a determined path that you can't change seems…wrong. I don't like it."

Jasmine looked out into space to see if she could see what Jonathan was looking at. But all she saw were stars, nothing too interesting. "Maybe you're right. But I still think that around you exciting things are going to happen."


	9. Epilogue

Watching Jonathan and Jasmine was a lone figure. He watched and listened to their exchange. He had been watching Captain Masters for a while. He saw everything that happened and watched as events played themselves out. But he didn't often comment on anything. Even when things looked grim he didn't hold his breath with anticipation. He always knew that everything would work out in Captain Masters' favour.

But with Jasmine's last comment he broke his usual silence. "Miss Carter, you have no idea how right you are. Things are going to happen around our fine Captain. But exciting isn't the right word, incredible is the only word that can describe his destiny."


End file.
